


Trigger

by Nuestjjang07



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Blood and Gore, Detectives, Killing, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 12:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30038628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuestjjang07/pseuds/Nuestjjang07
Summary: To the voice in your head.Pulling old memoriesMaking their circles around your bedLate A.M. is always when they try and start their run.So come to me when no demons come.— Pillows by eaj x keshi
Relationships: Nu'est Ensemble/Nu'est Ensemble
Kudos: 1





	Trigger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [summersfall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/summersfall/gifts).



> Happy Anniversary to Nu'est hahahaa this is the only thing I could offer 🥺🥺 unbetaed because she requested it hahahaa

A loud noise woke Junhui up from his deep slumber. He's not a light sleeper but ever since he moved in this building, he became sensitive and wary of his surroundings. The people living here are _not normal_. He thought he was just being paranoid but he's been hearing strange noises recently and he can't just shrug off the feeling that something is definitely wrong in this place.

It hasn’t been a year since Junhui graduated from the police academy. He's still a dispatched police but he's in the Serious Crimes unit, the department he wants to be in since he aims to be a detective in the future.

He got up from his bed, got his baton—just in case—and started looking around. It was dark when he went out of his room. He was so sure he heard someone whimpering and being hit numerous times but it's quiet now and he can't see anyone in the living room nor in the kitchen. What he heard was too loud for it to be just a dream so he continued his search.

He went a floor down and was about to give up and just go back to sleep when he noticed something wet on the stairs. He looked closely and discovered blood. It hasn't dried up which means it's pretty recent. It seemed to lead him further down, maybe the basement so although feeling a tad bit nervous, he still followed the trail of blood. 

When he reached the basement, he heard the sound of someone being hit again. He can hear it more clearly through the door which was left slightly ajar. He peeked through the gap and saw something that scarred him for life.

The said room was dimly lit. It smelled strongly like a mixture of different chemicals and metal. On the right side, there was a huge bathtub. Now that his eyes adjusted to the dark, he thought the whole room looked like a big bathroom, with the marble walls, the shower, sink and a bathtub on the side. No one was there except for the man he thought he knew, who was hitting another man using a baseball bat. The other man (or woman, he can't tell) seemed dead already since he's not resisting anymore. Then, he saw the man injecting something on the dead person. It looks like a long tube connected to the bathtub. 

Scared for his life, he started calling his team leader but he didn’t answer. He called every other detective from his department but no one picked up his call. He can't blame them since it's already 3 in the morning. He decided to call the last person he thought that was still on the precinct and luckily this man picked up his call.

"Hey, don’t you know what time it is?! This better be good or else—"

"Hyung! I-I s-saw someone killing someone!"

"Hey! Calm down.. what did you say? Where are you? Junhui?? Hello? Hello?"

But Junhui was not able to answer because the man was now in front of him, smirking at him. The man yanked the phone away from him and threw it hard on the floor that the glass shattered. 

He usually gets angry at movie characters who don't just run away from a killer in the movie but now that he is in the same situation—and this is even in real life—he can't also move. He has never been this scared his whole life that his body was paralyzed by fear. 

The man held him in the collar and dragged him inside. 

Inside, a more terrific sight welcomed him. He can see bloodstains everywhere. He was thrown beside the dead man and now he can see the tube connected to the bathtub. The said bathtub was filled with blood, no wonder it smells like metal there.

"N-no hyung! Please.. don't kill me! I-I won't report you!" He pleaded.

"Oh, but you just did? You called someone from the precinct, right?" The man just grinned at him. "I'm sorry, but you have to go."

The man hit him several times until he almost passed out, then he connected another tube to him and he can see his blood flowing on the tube to the bathtub. The man stripped down and went inside the bathtub. The man must have been out of his mind for he was bathing in the tub full of blood.

"You know, I really liked you Junhui. I don't really want to hurt you but you just have to see me like this. This is so sad. I'm gonna miss you, bro." The man said, laughing while shaking his head. That was the last thing Junhui heard before he lost his consciousness.

—

"Oh, you're late!"

He is rushing but he just had to bump on the last person he wants to see today (or on any other day.) For some reasons, Kim Jonghyun, a detective from the Ouisang District always has this bad feeling whenever this certain rookie journalist visits and hangs out on their department. The said man hands him a cup of coffee as they enter the precinct.

"Why are you here again? Nothing newsworthy at Seungwon District, ha?" Jonghyun says, sipping on the coffee. Hot double mocha, 50% sugar, just as he likes it.

"Oh, bold of you to even assume that I went there. Their precinct smells and there's nothing interesting in that place. I stayed and slept here. I just went out to buy coffee for you all." Minhyun says, as he hands out the coffee to the other detectives.

This man, Hwang Minhyun, is a rookie journalist from a known broadcasting company in Seoul. Jonghyun never really liked these rookie journalists because in the past years a rookie or two was assigned on their precinct, they had just been a nuisance and would get in the way of their investigations. 

But this Minhyun was different. He tries to solve some of their cases and he actually does a good job on that. He actually _helps_ with the investigations. It tramples on Jonghyun's pride because he studied for years, read heaps and heaps of case reports and did some more research, but he just can't deny the fact that the man was good. It's like he knows how the criminals' minds work.

As per usual, the television in their office is turned on, one that no one really pays attention to. No one, except Minhyun.

_'..On today's news, CEO Kwak, owner of the famous Notsunnie restaurant franchise, donated a total of 1 million won to the victims of the typhoon…'_

"Oh, to be that guy.. He's _rich_ rich, a CEO at that young age, and he's also _that_ handsome! I wonder what's his secret to his glowing skin.." Minhyun says, sighing loudly in front of his desk.

He jokingly pushes away Minhyun's hands from his desk and says, "As much as I want to listen to your fantasy about this CEO guy, I actually need to work. Like, work without you whispering nonsense in front of me. And anyway, what are you doing here, inside our office? You're not allowed here. With all due respect to you, Mr. Hwang, please get the hell out of here."

"Oh, I'm not offended at all." Minhyun drags a chair and sits in front of him. "I'm also here to work Jonghyun-ah. Watching news is actually part of my job description."

"Whatever.. You do know we have television in the lobby, where all other journalists wait, right? This is why they say we're giving you special treatment." Jonghyun sighs.

"But, you specifically haven't given me anything newsworthy that could make my career take off.." Minhyun rolls his eyes at him. "Whatever! I'll just ask Dongho." And Minhyun, ever-so-dramatic Minhyun, just walks away and proceeds to disturb Dongho. 

"Dongho my one true friend here, do you have anything for me?" He starts, but Dongho seems busy typing on his phone. "Uhm, hi? Earth to Dongho?" He repeats while tapping lightly on Dongho's desk.

"Ah yes?" He looks around before noticing Minhyun in front of him. "Oh! Minhyun you're here!"

"Yes, as you so clearly didn't notice, Jonghyun and I had been exchanging death threats since forever." Minhyun teases him and poor Dongho looks at him with wide eyes and a questioning look. "Joke, it's a joke Dongho. What's with you today? You seemed distracted."

"Ahh, joke.." Dongho exhales. "I'm just trying to call Junhui since I missed his call last night. I can't seem to reach him and his phone was turned off." 

He also approaches Dongho's desk. "Junhui also called me last night but I was already sleeping." He reaches for his phone and there it is, the notification that he missed a call from Junhui. 

He saw the other detective—Cho Seungyoun—checking his phone. Apparently, Junhui, a policeman from their department called them but no one was able to answer him. 

"Oh!" Minhyun says so suddenly, startling them. "I talked to him last night! I was still writing an article last night when he called. He hung up so suddenly and when I tried calling him, his phone was turned off already."

"What did he say?"

Minhyun pauses for a while as he tries to remember what the call was about. "He said he saw someone killing someone.. I think? I can't hear him clearly because his voice was shaking and he hung up so suddenly."

"Why are you telling this only now?" Jonghyun asks sharply. 

He tries to call Jun’s phone again but it was still unattended. He can't help but worry about him since Junhui is the youngest in their department.

"Do you think something bad happened to him?" Minhyun asks nervously.

“I don't know.." Jonghyun sighs. He calms himself and thinks of other ways to know Junhui's whereabouts. “I have a bad feeling about this.. I should’ve answered Jun’s call last night.” Jonghyun stares at his phone, hoping the young man was just running late or forgot to charge his phone.

“Hey, no need to be that hard on yourself. I answered the call but was not able to do anything.. If you want to blame anyone, it should be me. But, let’s all calm down and just wait.” Minhyun gives him a light pat on his back.

After a few minutes of silence and pondering, Minhyun excuses himself to get his laptop and other things from his assigned room. 

Jonghyun nods at him but then Minhyun stops on his track and nonchalantly says, “If you’re really that worried, why don't you search his files? It seemed like he was still at home when he called me and his address might be on his file.” 

At times like this, he thinks Minhyun could be a better detective than him, all with his stoic personality and rational thinking.

—

It had been a slow day for the people of the Serious Crime unit of Ouisang District. Two uneventful days passed now and they still haven't solved the two cases they have. First was the case about finding a lost cat that was not even supposed to be a case for their department. But since the Superintendent deemed it as "serious", Jonghyun passed the case to Dongho since he seemed to have affinity to cutesy stuff.

He's got no time for that because of the second case. It has already been two days and still no word from Junhui. They already reported him as a missing person and the higher ups just approved it as an official case and they can already start their search officially. 

By this time, he was sure something happened to Jun on his lodging. Following Minhyun's advice, he went out of his way and visited the said building.

When he arrived, he didn't get off immediately. He stealthily observed the place. It was a five-story building with a rooftop at the end of the alley. There was a restaurant on the first floor of the building and Jonghyun noticed they had many customers despite the location. Other than that, the street seemed pretty deserted considering it was still daytime. The next house and establishment seemed to be quite distant from the said building. He got off his car and started asking around. 

He didn't really get anything from the neighbors except that the landlord was quite young, around late 20s to early 30s. He also seemed to be famous amongst the elderly since they spoke highly of him He owned the restaurant he saw and he was the head chef. His dishes must have been that good for people to go out their way and eat here. Aside from that, he didn't find anything unusual or strange. 

Nothing strange except, when he was about to start his car, he spotted Kang Dongho.

"Dongho-ya!" He calls out. Dongho notices him and walks up to his car.

"Oh, Jonghyun? I thought you're not interested about this case. Why are you here?"

"What case? Junhui lives on that building. I was just asking around if anyone saw him or anything."

"That missing cat case! We got a lead that they spotted the cat around here. But, we found something strange about this." Dongho says, looking extremely bothered. "You know, you should see this."

He wants to laugh because Dongho seems to be really serious about this case but he stops himself. He gets out of his car again and follows Dongho. They walk just past the building Junhui lives in and continues near the woods. Just as he thought they're going deeper in the woods, he spots several policemen and the all-too-familiar yellow tape. Even before he saw the place, he smelled a stench that could only come from rotten flesh and blood.

_Well now, this case does seem to be a bit serious._

One look at the scene and he can now understand why Dongho looks disturbed. Someone dug a shallow hole where bodies of cats and dogs were discarded. The animals were heavily mutilated and some were decomposing already. Dongho looks away and pulls him away from the scene. Really, that man is too soft to be a detective.

"According to the vet, the cause of death of the animals was blood loss, and the wounds were just inflicted when they were dead already." Dongho explains. "Whoever did this must've been completely crazy. Those poor creatures.."

What they thought as just a simple case of a missing cat turns out to be something serious. Jonghyun stayed to help with the investigation.

—

It was already past seven when Dongho and Jonghyun got back to the precinct. They immediately reported to their superior and got back on their desks to rest before going home.

"So, you mean the cat was killed just around where Junhui lives?" Seungyoun asks. He was working on a different case and also just got back on the precinct.

"Hey, it's not just a simple cat case, I'm telling you. We found 7 cats and 6 dogs on the mountain. They were not even buried properly. They were murdered, butchered. It was heartbreaking." Dongho clutches his heart.

To others, it might look like Dongho was just over-acting but it was really awful. He was there, he saw what those animals looked like. If someone did it to animals, could they have done it to humans as well? What if Jun..

_No_ , he shakes his head. _He doesn't want to go there._

"Do you guys remember the pension murder case last year? It started with something trivial like this, right? Cats and dogs were missing, then murdered and then the next thing we've heard people also went missing and were found heavily mutilated.." Minhyun chimes in.

"...so do you think it has something to do with what happened to Junhui? Or was it just a coincidence that it happened almost in the same place?" Seungyoun voices out what he was just thinking.

"Hey, stop it. We can't be sure about anything yet.." He shakes his head, then looks at the man beside him. "Hey.. wait a minute, what are you even doing here?"

Minhyun didn't pay him any attention. "I've been here the whole time. I heard everything." He looked at the case report again. He was looking straight to the pictures without even flinching. "Don't you think.."

"Hey, stop." Jonghyun says, pulling the folder out of Minhyun's grip. "This isn't for civilians like you. Just go back to your room or whatever. If you keep this up I'll have to report you to the superintendent."

"C'mon, Jonghyun! Aren't we friends?" Minhyun looks at him expectantly but he doesn't give in.

"Last time I remember, we're not on that level. Now, if you could excuse us, we still need to investigate and talk things through."

Minhyun scowls at him. "Whatever, you ungrateful shit. I'll just investigate on my own and won't share anything with you people." Then, Minhyun walks out.

"Wait, Minhyun. Minhyun!" He calls out but the man doesn't even look back. He's worried because Minhyun is really stubborn and he could really investigate on his own.

He takes a deep breath then opens the case report again. He shouldn't really be focusing on that man right now. Anyway, Minhyun is already a grown man and he can fend up for himself.

For now, he should be focusing on this case. Whether this has something to do with what happened to Jun or not, they should finish what they started.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be posting this for three parts. The last part will be on summersfall-nim birthday hahaa advance happy birthday!!


End file.
